Steve McDonald is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Simon Gregson.

Steve's storylines include his many failed relationships: with Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin), Ronnie Clayton (Emma Stansfield), and Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), as well as Tracy giving birth to his daughter Amy (Elle Mulvaney) and depression.

In 2019, Steve and Tracy struggled to cope when their 14-year-old daughter, Amy, fell pregnant by gang member Tyler Jefferies (Will Barnett).

Rick Fulton of the Daily Record noted that Karen vows to be more "wily" with her romantic interests after seeing her friend Bobbi "wrapping boyfriend Vikram Desai (Chris Bisson) around her little finger".

She characterises Karen as "not the type of girl to back out of a tricky situation" and states that she and Steve find themselves "in a game of bluff" with each "waiting for the other to pull out.

[10] Billy Sloan of the Sunday Mail stated that the scenes were "guaranteed to provide a bit of light relief" after serious storylines such as Toyah Battersby's (Georgia Taylor) rape and Alma Halliwell's (Amanda Barrie) cervical cancer diagnosis.

[13] Discussing the success of the pairing, Gregson compared Steve and Karen to "a mini Jack and Vera" with "the shouting and the arguments" and "the feistiness of the characters".

"[15] When Gregson was interviewed by entertainment website Digital Spy, he was asked if he thought that Steve has had a positive impact on Becky's life.

[17] Their relationship was featured in a series of romantic plots which ITV dubbed the "Summer of Love" season of the soap, with advertisements airing.

"[19] In January 2015, it was revealed that Steve would reunite Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) in the aftermath of the upcoming mini bus crash storyline.

With Michelle now focused solely on helping Steve to get better with his depression following their reconciliation, she faces opposition from his mother Liz as it becomes apparent that they have very different approaches.

While Liz adopts a "tough love" approach with her son, Michelle thinks they should tread more carefully around him, worried about his vulnerable state.

[26] Steve arrived in Coronation Street, in December 1989, at the age of 15, with twin brother, Andy (Nicholas Cochrane) and parents, Jim (Charles Lawson) and Liz (Beverley Callard).

Steve and Andy got up to a lot of mischief, including a joyride in an industrial earth mover, breaking Alf's shop window.

Schoolboy pranks turned into illegal activities when Steve was sure he could pull off a scam or two only to find out that the long arm of the law was only a few steps away.

After learning that Jez killed Tony Horrocks (Lee Warburton) and Des Barnes (Philip Middlemiss), Steve decides to testify against him in court.

In March 2005, he briefly dated single mother Louise Hazel, but the dalliance soon fizzled out partly due to Tracy's presence.

Steve starts dating former StreetCars employee Ronnie Clayton (Emma Stansfield), a local gangster's estranged wife.

Steve's alibi for the crime was that he spent the night with his new business partner Lloyd's girlfriend Kelly Crabtree (Tupele Dorgu).

Later that year, Steve bought The Rovers Return pub from Fred Elliott (John Savident) and installed Liz as landlady and stepfather Vernon Tomlin (Ian Reddington) as cellarman.

Steve takes Amy (now played by Amber Chadwick) after Tracy is sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward).

This gave Tracy cause to literally pick Amy up and take her back to No.1 where she says that she was going to ring social services for buying Max.

Steve hires a new manager for the pub, Stella Price (Michelle Collins) who moves in with her daughter Eva (Catherine Tyldesley) and her boyfriend Karl Munro (John Michie).

He thought this would make Tracy move out but she ends up becoming friends with Beth so he sells the house to Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) who is looking for somewhere for him and his son after splitting from his wife a few months before.

Steve begins to develop feelings for ex-girlfriend, Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) and does not believe Tracy when she complains that she is ill until she is hospitalised, after collapsing from kidney failure.

When the truth is revealed, Carla says that she is going to kill Tina and is prime suspect in her murder investigation when she is found lying dead on the pavement.

Liz's boyfriend, Tony Stewart (Terence Maynard) offers to lend him the money to clear his debt, but after starting an affair with Tracy, the couple plan to take the Rovers from the McDonald's.

In May 2015, after some persuasion from Liz, a reluctant Steve agrees to sell his share of the Rovers to a company called "Travis Limited", who, unbeknownst to everyone, is actually Tony.

In November 2021, Steve appeared in a non canon sketch of Channel 4 show First Dates with EastEnders’ character Janine Butcher in aid of Children in Need.

A spokeswoman for the soap defended the controversial storyline saying; "We are a realistic drama and we did flag up the fact there was going to be violence in the Steve McDonald episode.